[Adolescence and contraception: 1. A study knowledge and use among women hospitalized for childbirth or abortion]

A study of the knowledge and utilization of contraceptive methods by adolescent is presented. An analysis was carried out based on data collected from interviews with and recorded case histories of 78 puerperal adolescents (childbirth or abortion), assisted by an obstetric service in the county of Cotia, SP, Brazil, between May 1 and July 31, 1986. Of all the adolescents studied, 61.5% had some knowledge of contraceptive methods; the findings showed that such knowledge was influenced by factors such as: age, school background, parity and marital status. The main sources of information on contraception were: friends, relatives and partners, in this order; those least sought for in this regard were health professionals. Only one in each ten adolescents made use of some contraceptive measure, the most prevalent methods being the contraceptive pill, the Ogino-Knauss method, condoms and coitus interruptus. In all of the cases of the utilization of these methods the same had been "recommended" by persons belonging to the adolescents' social group, and had been acquired in shops, without any health control.